Adweek's 2023 Experiential Awards

Freed of pandemic-era restrictions, experiential was back in full swing in 2022 and 2023. Brands and agencies were empowered to take even bigger risks, beckoning a renaissance for the industry. Our fifth annual Experiential Awards reflect a bold and purposeful era for a form of marketing that's coming into its own. This year’s roster of winners includes everything from a gamified dance floor to an out-of-this-world concert to a sanctuary for delivery workers. Here are the brands and agencies making their mark on the industry. Experiential Activation by a Travel Brand Surprisingly SavannahBrand: Visit SavannahAgency: Engage & Resonate With the recent introduction of nonstop flights to and from New York, Visit Savannah needed to spread the word fast. And what better way to give New Yorkers a taste of the Southern city than to bring Savannah to New York? Seeking to highlight Savannah’s history, venues, vendors, restaurants and bars for potential travelers, Surprisingly Savannah transported a little square of the city right into the heart of the Big Apple. With a 4D immersive experience from the ground up, the team created a Savannah-style mini-vacation to entice New Yorkers to visit. The event was a smash success, with 400-plus guests per hour throughout. It also set a record for the highest single-day foot traffic for Gansevoort Plaza, while playing a big role in boosting year-over-year traffic to VisitSavannah.com from the New York area by 50%. —Sara Century Experiential Activation by an Auto Brand Last CallBrand: DodgeAgency: MotorTrend Group The Dodge Challenger’s legacy in the world of internal combustion muscle cars is undeniable. This year saw the Challenger’s story drawing to a close with the release of the DC 170, the last of the line. Automotive media company MotorTrend Group quickly set about creating a reveal for this final chapter that would live up to the legend. Tapping into the popularity of the annual Roadkill Nights in Pontiac, Mich., MotorTrend Group created the first-ever Roadkill Nights West at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event brought out more than 10,000 fans to enjoy racing and rides, then dropped a surprise headliner for the event—the launch of the DC 170. Via livestream, enthusiasts everywhere watched as the Dodge was helicopter-dropped in and Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis spoke to the crowd. The car ripped down the strip at 150 mph, wowing the audience and resulting in the DC 170 becoming a sold-out instant classic. —S.C. Experiential Activation by a Retail Brand Arc’teryx, for the Love of Winter, New YorkBrand: Arc’teryxAgency: Moment Factory Based in the Canadian coastal mountains, outdoor equipment company Arc’teryx sought to bring the natural beauty of its home turf to New Yorkers. In November 2022, the brand paired with Moment Factory to create a limited-time-only immersive multimedia experience to highlight its products. Turning a shuttle into a thrilling helicopter ride, the guests were grounded by a surprise whiteout, only to be greeted by a hazy winter scene as the door opened. The experience tapped into the sensory aspect of being on a hike, giving visitors a steep walk uphill and out onto a ridge. Once there, they were treated to a stunning view created by a 270-degree panoramic screen. Tapping into the constantly changing weather of the mountains, guests experienced an array of weather conditions. As the tour wrapped, an LED campfire awaited below for visitors to unwind before stepping back out into the city. —S.C. Experiential Activation by a Media Brand Marco Mengoni Haptic ExperienceBrand: Amazon Music ItaliaAgency: NEWU With Italian chart-topper Marco Mengoni's seventh studio album “Materia (Pelle)” on the way, Amazon Music Italia wanted something special for the release. With the idea of a human need for skin-to-skin contact, or “skin hunger,” at the root of the album, the door was open for new ideas. Calling back the sense of isolation that came from 2020’s pandemic quarantine, the campaign set about creating a first-of-its-kind synesthetic experience. Utilizing a haptic interface created for the release, this became the first album that could be “touched” via a weeklong installation at the Monumental Atrium of Milan’s Central Station. The event was dropped during Mengoni’s Milan tour, so fans were able to stop by on their way to the concert. Listeners were invited to place their palms on the device, at which time the technology was able to re-create the sense of reactive touch between two people. —S.C. Experiential Activation by an Entertainment Brand Rick & Morty WormageddonBrand: Adult SwimAgency: XD Agency With a need to make its sixth season launch a smash success in the face of declining cable subscriptions, Rick & Morty tapped into the passion of its fan base. With the help of two show writers, Wormageddon was born. Tying the Season 5 finale into the premiere, the story follows a worm bent on world domination. Then came the scavenger hunt, hosted through Rick & Morty’s social channels. Over two weeks, an immersive scene featuring Rick and Morty fighting Wormageddon appeared in surprising places all over the globe. With nine of the scenes kept in secret locations, fans had to access their encyclopedic knowledge of the show in order to track them down. Each winner walked away with a trophy and PR photo. The premiere of Rick & Morty’s sixth season was a smash success, attracting more than a million viewers and earning the place of the No. 1 original comedy on cable. —S.C. Experiential Activation by a Beverage Brand Infinite Potential. Zero Limits.Brand: Sprite Zero SugarAgency: Momentum Worldwide Looking to expand its reach among Black and Hispanic youth ages 16-24, Sprite Zero Sugar crafted a purpose-driven message to grab Gen Z’s attention. With consumer studies indicating a huge interest in entrepreneurship and creativity for Sprite consumers, the key became creating new possibilities. With a notable disparity in the numbers of Black creatives working in Hollywood at the forefront, “Infinite Potential. Zero Limits.” was born. Celebrating the release of Wakanda Forever, Sprite Zero Sugar invited fans to scan bottles with their phones. This launched an AR guide that would match their skills with those of creators working on the film, showing a path forward for Black creatives hoping to work in the film industry. Taking the product to HBCUs for a first look at the film, Sprite Zero Sugar even created a scholarship program around the launch. This led to an astonishing 54% increase in sales alongside 835-plus million impressions, exceeding campaign expectations. —S.C. Experiential Activation by a Packaged Goods Brand, Best Sports-Related Experiential Activation No Lay’s No GameBrand: Lay’sAgency: SlapGlobal Continuing its long-running sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, Lay’s worked to further solidify its connection with UCL by bringing football legends straight to fans’ doors. The catch? If the lucky football fan couldn’t find a bag of Lay’s in their cupboards, the star would be sadly forced to move on to the next house. For the launch, World Cup winner Thierry Henry returned to his hometown of Barcelona. The athlete knocked on residential doors an hour before the UCL games began, and fans either had a game night of a lifetime or were left regretting their lack of Lay’s for a lifetime. The activation continued with other UEFA champions, including Lucas Redebe in Johannesburg, Ianis Hagi in Bucharest and Lieke Martens in Amsterdam. Wherever the campaign landed, the message was clear: “No Lay’s, No Game.” —S.C. Experiential Activation by a Technology Brand Two honorees were named in this category. ‘Find Your People’ ExperiencesBrand: RedditAgency: Giant Spoon Amid the rise of artificial intelligence, Reddit sought to define itself as a platform focusing on very real human connections and communities. With a history of uniting people across the globe through their common interests, the brand embraced a theme of authenticity to move forward in an ever-changing market. Spinning out of the brand’s “Find Your People” campaign highlighting the individuality of Reddit users, global industry tentpole events became the next place to lay out its mission to advertisers. Kicking off the Reddit Explorers Club at Cannes, brands learned how to navigate Reddit’s many untapped niche communities. Six months later, Reddit’s Future Tellers segment debuted at CES, capitalizing on its users’ tendency toward predicting trends ahead of mainstream markets. These activations surpassed every KPI set by the Reddit team, boosting brand awareness via guest interactions, press mentions and increased intent to spend from event attendees. —S.C. Under the SurfaceBrand: IBMAgency: GPJ Experience Marketing With today’s businesses under threat of hackers, IBM’s Randori Recon is all about business owners asserting control of their security. With the mission of enabling online owners and entrepreneurs to view themselves from an attacker’s perspective, the brand launched “Under the Surface.” For this attack surface management platform, revealing the weak spots in security systems is the first step toward strengthening them. Taking out the abstract, undefined nature of cyber security, IBM brought to life a direct visual representation of its clients’ attack surface as viewed by Randori. Utilizing gesture-activated Ultraleap motion technology to create a fully interactive experience, users were able to grab, rotate and zoom in on data, seeing how sites appear to less-than-scrupulous hackers. Offering insight into what attracts these threats, this model also showed how Randori can empower businesses to take action before a weak spot turns into a data breach. —S.C. Experiential Activation Less Than $1 Million, Best Community-Focused Experiential Activation The Brake RoomBrand: Chick-Fil-AAgency: McCann New York To address challenges facing delivery personnel, Chick-fil-A partnered with agency McCann New York to create “The Brake Room,” a sanctuary that offered delivery workers a warm place to rest, stay warm, use facilities and enjoy complimentary coffee. Although food delivery spiked in popularity during the pandemic, many delivery workers struggled to find basic amenities like restrooms or a rest stop like their in-store counterparts could access. With comprehensive research done to understand the unique needs of this often overlooked area of the workforce, The Brake Room was designed to provide solutions they desired. The effort was so well received that it ignited a citywide movement for change in New York, gaining support from both Mayor Eric Adams and Sen. Chuck Schumer, and prompting industry peer Grubhub to follow suit. The simple but substantial undertaking helped Chick-fil-A to continue servicing community needs outside of the kitchen. —Kennyatta Collins Experiential Activation Over $1 Million Levi’s 501 ExperienceBrand: Levi Strauss & Co.Agency: Anthemic Agency Levi's iconic 501 jeans turned 150 years old in 2023, and the celebration needed to be big. In tribute to the brand’s presence in San Francisco, the Armory building in the Mission District was chosen for the location. Next came the event: a nine-day activation featuring a historical exhibit and the ability to make a custom pair of jeans onsite. Music was provided by stars like Anderson .Paak (DJ Pee .Wee), Tune-Yards, mxmtoon, Toro y Moi and Tommy Guerrero, while partnerships with local businesses and engagement sessions offered community engagement. Denim workshops, opportunities to buy curated vintage Levi’s, and exclusive product drops all combined to make this a retail experience 150 years in the making. The activation saw 8,000 visitors, made 2.7 billion impressions and created $40 million in total media value for the brand. —S.C. Experiential Activation by a Spirits or Alcoholic Beverage Brand Rave to SaveBrand: DesperadosAgency: Jack Morton and We Are Pi The dance-based fundraising platform “Rave to Save"—part of Desperados' “Pour Some Unusual on Your Usual” campaign—gamified the dance floor. With the app, the harder you dance, the more rewards you can unlock, all in the name of a good cause. During the pandemic, that meant supporting shuttered venues. Follow-ups have benefited a variety of organizations, including Stonewall and Women in Music. Teaming up with Elrow and Live Nation, the experience was integrated into European festivals and clubs, with 15 events in six countries. To date, this initiative has led to 482 million impressions and 530 million media impressions. The campaign aims to create more inclusive dance floors through better booking practices, with lineups leaning into diverse talent rosters, including a higher percentage of women DJs and LGBTQ+ performers. —S.C. Best Use of Data Insights in an Experiential Activation Sephora IlluminationBrand: Sephora CanadaAgency: Zulu Alpha Kilo Sephora’s Colour iQ Shade Matching Technology uses cutting-edge technology to match makeup to skin tone. Launching in Canada, one of the world’s most diverse countries, more than 140,000 unique skin tones were captured via the app. Reflecting Sephora Canada’s commitment to creating a more welcoming beauty industry for all, an immersive, data-driven, weeklong installation was built in Toronto’s high-traffic Yorkville neighborhood. The interactive exhibition showcased these many unique skin tones, as visitors engaged to find their own unique shade. Acknowledging that beauty products are not one-size-fits-all, Sephora homed in on tailoring its offerings to the unique needs of its customers. The results speak for themselves, with the store closest to the activation site seeing a 174% increase in Colour iQ scans in the following weeks, a 60% increase nationwide, and more than 239 million earned impressions. —S.C. Best Use of Influencers in an Experiential Activation The State Farm Gamerhood ChallengeBrand: State FarmAgency: Infinity Marketing Team With the goal of driving interactive engagement and brand affinity among millennials and Gen Z, State Farm made the last move you’d expect of an insurance company: It got into gaming. With its eyes on casual gaming rather than esports, the State Farm Gamerhood Challenge 2023 sprang to life. Reality TV, ’90s sitcoms and live gaming tournaments combined for a five-episode series starring influencers like Ninja, Ludwig and Typical Gamer. A 50,000-square-foot gaming neighborhood was constructed with a series of “insurable” accidents for participants to tackle, like microwaves catching fire and roofs caving under snow. Gamers were invited to enjoy insurance-based trivia games while watching the livestream, with more than 20 million viewers turning in to watch via State Farm and the influencers’ individual channels. Tapping into each guest’s online following nearly doubled the total viewership and achieved 100% positive sentiment with 534.5 million people reached. —S.C. Best Use of Delivery and Merchandise Gopuff Live—Be Right ThereBrand: GopuffAgency: Live Nation Entertainment After a period of flying under the radar, delivery service Gopuff set its sights on building brand awareness that would stand apart from the crowd. Pairing with Live Nation, it focused on the needs of music festival fans, traditionally somewhat isolated from standard amenities during concerts. This was the exact audience to target with Gopuff’s ability to deliver thousands of items through a vertically integrated system of mico-fulfillment centers. At Live Nation’s largest U.S. festival, EDC Las Vegas, the enormous, tent-filled campground made for the perfect place to win new fans. Using insights from consumers, the brand took care to understand what items are most needed by festival-goers. With brand ambassadors traveling via bike or golf cart, deliveries were fast and specific. The “Gopuff Delivery Den” continued at the Governors Ball Music Festival and Rolling Loud. Surpassing brand goals, the campaign led to more than 40,000 one-on-one brand interactions. —S.C. Best Use of Experiential Activation to Launch a Brand/Product The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Global Premiere in Four CountriesBrand: Prime VideoAgency: AGENC Experiential + Digital Marketing Lord of the Rings is easily one of the most popular fantasy franchises in history, and that meant going big for the launch of Prime Video’s long-awaited “The Rings of Power.” With Prime looking to connect with longtime fans while appealing to new visitors of J.R.R. Tolkien's mystical world, the hype was through the roof. Executing not one but four massive-scale red-carpet premieres, the campaign went several steps further by infusing each location with specific Middle-earth-inspired details. In London, Leicester Square was transformed into an Elven forest, which was dubbed the most ambitious build the plaza has ever seen—even with its impressive history of film premieres. With the scope of the campaign giving Tolkien’s world-building a run for its money, Season 1 soon became the brand’s top original series in 240 territories, driving more sign-ups worldwide than any previous content. —S.C. Best Use of Partnership in an Experiential Activation Live From the Upside DownBrand: Netflix and DoritosAgency: Observatory and SlapGlobal Ahead of the Stranger Things Season 4 premiere, Netflix and Doritos collaborated to reunite fans and bands for a concert quite literally out of this world. “Live From the Upside Down” turned Doritos bags into tickets for a 36-minute 1986 concert that never was, featuring bands like The Go-Go’s, Corey Hart and Soft Cell performing a duet with a time-jumping Charli XCX. After replicating the spectacle of the show’s terrifying Upside Down with a specially designed set, effects and Easter eggs were added in to make the transformation complete. The concert invite was scanned more than 365,000 times, granting Doritos an 11% sales lift and garnering a stunning 4.46 billion impressions. As for the Season 4 premiere of Stranger Things, it enjoyed a record-breaking 1.35 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days after the release alone. —S.C. Best Use of Drive-Up Experience NBC Quantum Leap 2022Brand: NBC UniversalAgency: GDX Studios In collaboration with GDX Studios in 2022, NBC Universal took a creative leap to connect with die-hard enthusiasts and new sci-fi fans around the revival of the Quantum Leap series. Harnessing the power of nostalgia, the media company brought the time-traveling experience to audiences with a Los Angeles drive-through event. The Blast From the Past offered gas at $0.91 per gallon, referencing prices in 1985 when the show was set. Beyond focusing on cheap fuel, the drive-through was a time tunnel to the ’80s, complete with period-specific music, breakdancers, and snacks like Big League Chew. The experience even enlisted Fandango as a partner to sell movie tickets at retro prices to further immerse people in the series' world. The campaign was an influential lead into the premiere that drew more than 3.3 million viewers, thanks partly to their cultural flashback experience. —K.C. Best Use of Mobile, Best Social Media in an Experiential Activation Scrolling TherapyBrand: EurofarmaAgency: Dentsu Creative Patients with Parkinson's disease can struggle to convey emotions after losing the ability to move facial muscles—a symptom called “facial masking.” While a common 45-minute daily routine can offer some relief, adherence to the therapy tends to be low due to the physical, mental and emotional toll. Pharmaceutical company Eurofarma, with agency Dentsu Creative, created a mobile app to provide a simpler way to ease this symptom. Recognizing people’s tendency to spend hours on social media, Eurofarma developed Scrolling Therapy as a way of helping patients engage in a more active therapy that could be easily integrated in their everyday lives. The app allows users to interact with their feeds through facial exercises, turning routine actions like smiling or frowning into interactive commands through facial recognition technology. The brand’s goal is to reintegrate emotional expression into the daily lives of more than 8.5 million people. —K.C. Best Use of Virtual Event Technology eos Presents Mariah Carey's Winter Wonderland in RobloxBrand: eosAgency: Mekanism New York Tapping into the seasonal spirit, personal care brand eos partnered with one of the celebrities most synonymous with the holiday season—Mariah Carey—for a virtual celebration. Going from the real world to the digital one, the collaboration unfolded on gaming platform Roblox, where Gen Z and millennial audiences could interact with the singer. In the virtual space, eos created the “eos Hub,” a lip balm-inspired playhouse where fans could collect branded merchandise, enjoy an elevated gaming experience and virtually share the stage with Carey. Leveraging programmatic ads and in-game notifications, eos saw a seven-fold increase in Livetopia visits, more than 6 million interactions with branded items and a 255% jump in eos Hub visitors. The virtual event exceeded expectations, with more than 51 million impressions and 48 million earned media impressions as the brand brought music, gaming and beauty to a growing tech-savvy audience. —K.C. Best Use of Music/Audio in an Experiential Activation Bose QCE II Launch EventBrand: BoseAgency: Mirrored Media During New York Fashion Week, Bose and agency Mirrored Media showcased the effectiveness and stylishness of the QuietComfort Earbuds II in an audiovisual experience in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. In collaboration with renowned designer and DJ Heron Preston and with an exclusive performance by The Strokes, the who’s who of the creative industries and the press were able to experience the Quiet Comfort Earbuds II through a 360-degree spatial audio theatrical experience where immersive scenarios demonstrated the noise-cancellation power of the new earbuds. The exclusive physical experience even resonated digitally, with Google search volume for the brand reaching new all-time highs at 168% and social mentions outperforming their previous model launch. With influencer impressions alone reaching 23 million, the experience continued to shatter expectations. Total impression goals were surpassed by 3,000%, influencer reach was exceeded by 268%, and the viral launch proved to resonate with both sides of culture. —K.C. Best Use of Celebrity in an Experiential Activation They’re Just Ken: Ryan Gosling Gifts BTS’ Jimin Ken’s GuitarBrand: Warner Bros.Agency: IW Group New York Warner Bros.' Barbie film owned the summer, but it was Ryan Gosling’s Ken and the 40.8 million-strong BTS Army that gave Warner Bros. and IW Group a viral moment. Serendipitously, Gosling’s Ken wore an outfit similar to K-pop sensation and member of the boyband BTS, Park Ji-min (aka Jimin), in his music video—and the fan base took notice. Leveraging this coincidence to meet more diverse audiences, the brand responded with a campaign that included a video of Gosling gifting Jimin a one-of-a-kind Ken-themed Gibson guitar while acknowledging their great taste in fashion. The agency then helped get the word to Jimin in Korea, and his Instagram gratitude post continued to send fans into a frenzy. Together, Gosling and Jimin’s interaction sparked a Twitter storm. The BTS Army of fans pushed "Kenland" and helped their videos amass more than 106 million video views, 12.2 million social engagements and 1.3 billion media impressions. —K.C. Best Use of Video in an Experiential Activation Lego Dreamzzz: ‘Hunt for the Dream Creatures’Brand: The Lego GroupAgency: Amplify Lego, in partnership with agency Amplify, launched "Lego Dreamzzz," a mixed-reality campaign series that transformed everyday cities into areas of immersive adventure. Beginning with 3D billboards that doubled as gateways in Japan, the U.K and the U.S., the series aimed to blend the real and the fantasy. After the release of the gateways, social films featuring the CGI-based dream creatures that broke free from the doors expanded the augmented reality experience. "The Hunt for the Dream Creatures" campaign brought the invasion of these dream creatures to life while encouraging children to join the hunt across Lego’s digital and physical touch points, including its website and the Legoland parks. The campaign's success exceeded the 3 million YouTube views benchmark and earned more than 5 million views in just the first week. The series was so popular that it was screened on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and ITVX. —K.C. Best Use of Out-of-Home Media in an Experiential Activation ‘Live from PS5’: Reigniting the Hype Globally for Experiences on PS5Brand: Sony Interactive EntertainmentAgency: Amplify In a campaign spanning 51 markets in 32 languages, Sony created the "Live from PS5" news network that transformed some of the most coveted game titles and their gameplay into news stories that anchors were covering in person. The campaign featured reporters worldwide broadcasting from different out-of-home sites created after actual game experiences, such as weather anomalies from “Fimbulwinter,” the appearance of Kratos’ Leviathan Axe, or mutations from “The Last of Us.” The news network even invited players to become anchors in their own gameplay using the create button found on the PS5 controller. With more than 600 assets across television, digital platforms and special out-of-home builds, including quarantine zones and alien footprints, the campaign effectively merged fantasy with reality. Sony outperformed its previous year’s sales by moving 19.1 million PS5 units, earning 4.16 billion impressions, 38.3 million video views and 2.2 million post engagements. —K.C. Best Event in Support of Diversity and Inclusion Unstandardized DeskBrand: D2LAgency: Zulu Alpha Kilo Choosing to defy traditional campaigns and elevate its corporate brand in a new way, online learning company D2L developed a versatile industrial design allowing for customized configurations of the school desk. With traditional school desks not being designed to accommodate students with a variety of learning needs, this demonstration of the brand’s philosophy of rejecting a one-size-fits-all approach to education also challenged diverse B2B audiences, including educators, administrators and tech professionals, to embrace a more unique view of the education experience. The “Unstandardized Desk” symbolized the brand’s commitment to personalization in education and providing students with the means to engage in the learning experience in ways that best suit them. The impact of the design was a testament to the brand’s vision, as 87% of educators could recognize the variety of learning styles it represented, and 72% sought more information on this modern approach to education. —K.C. Best Event for Professional Development Meta Small Business StudiosBrand: MetaAgency: Factory360 Embarking on a mission to empower small-business owners through education, support, value and inspiration, Meta created a pop-up tour business studio experience to bring help to entrepreneurs across the country. The nationwide tour spanned major cities including Detroit, Kansas City, Austin, San Diego and Columbus. It offered personalized guidance on Meta's products, hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities with industry experts and leaders. The Meta Small Business Studio experience also included a “Support Bar” where business owners could receive in-person product help and partner workshops with Adobe and Vimeo for marketing insights. Further exposing small-business owners to more modern approaches to community-building, the studio included a Metaverse demo zone where attendees could experience the possibilities that come with virtual business. The event series supported nearly 2,000 small businesses, while the online experience reached more than 1.7 million businesses, surpassing their view goal by 250%. —K.C. Best International Experiential Activation Visa Masters of MovementBrand: VisaAgency: Imagination At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Visa unveiled Visa Masters of Movement, a campaign that transformed fan soccer skills into digital art to be minted as NFTs. Combining sports, art and cutting-edge technology, Visa harnessed its algorithm to create real-time visualizations, turning goals and skills into digital works to be collected on the blockchain. At the FIFA Fan Festival, which drew more than 100,000 attendees, fans were able to choose a country, don a tracking device, play sample games in an enclosed pitch, and create digital memorabilia based on their moves. The innovative campaign drove 12,000 individuals to mint NFTs and engage with a growing digital economy while experiencing the love of their favorite sport. Visa’s integration of the technology took center stage at the experience, with 957 million PR impressions from 335 articles and the creation of more than 24,000 unique pieces of digital artwork. —K.C. Best Consumer Activation 2023 McDonald's All-American Games (McDAAG)Brand: McDonald'sAgency: We Are Social U.S., The Narrative Group A fixture in basketball culture for 46 years, the McDonald's All-American Games expanded on the traditional showcase with various activities and experiences for players and fans alike. The campaign started in January with the roster reveal on “NBA Today” featuring McDAAG alumni like Jalen Rose and Vince Carter and hand-painted basketballs by artist David Maldonado. In February and March, the McDAAG's presence in Houston was amplified with 10 different activations in partnership with UofH, the Houston Rockets, local sneaker stores, and more—engaging more than 14,000 fans and generating more than 224,000 local media impressions, which led to record-breaking ticket sales. With the Toyota Center sold out to watch the best high school basketball players in the country, the games saw a 70% year-over-year increase in earned media, with more than 11,000 media and social placements and an 837% growth in celebrity and influencer attendance, including Lebron James and family. —K.C. Best Networking Event Welcome to the Pinterest ‘Manifestival,’ Where Anything Is PossibleBrand: PinterestAgency: Amplify Seeking to outdo its previous activation at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Pinterest and agency Amplify teamed up to create a “Manifestival” experience where guests were immersed in a world of activities challenging them to become active participants in their journey. The inspiration-to-manifestation experience invited industry professionals to engage directly with the world of Pinterest while reflecting the aspirations of the modern Gen Z audience. Whether it was getting tattoos, trying new hairstyles with inclusive beauty tools or customizing merchandise, each activation was inspired by a popular trend that emerged on the platform. As attendees engaged with each activation, they were encouraged to take action in new ways. The festival exceeded attendance and client meeting goals, with the first reaching more than 6,000 and the latter reaching more than 300, a 40% increase over the previous year. With lines reaching down the Croisette day after day, the 40-plus article mentions were warranted. —K.C. Best Virtual Event Pivot JAB Holding Company Annual Investor Conference 2022Brand: JAB Holding CompanyAgency: Gradient Experience Harnessing adaptive technology, JAB Holding Company’s Investor Conference innovated beyond pandemic constraints and leveraged virtual-world creation to maintain investor engagement. Partnering with New York-based Gradient for the third year in a row, JAB Holding Company’s conference was held in a custom-built, 3-D virtual world that featured six pre-recorded segments with CEOs from leading global brands and delivered 4.5 hours of content to 214 attendees from more than 30 countries. The cutting-edge approach to the conference model allowed Gradient to build a three-month brand communication push instead of just a two-day conference. This involved green-screen technology to create the illusion of in-person interactions and set designs and transitions to ensure more captivating professional broadcasts. To maintain the human side of the undertaking and provide a seamless experience, a control room and studio were built within JAB’s London office to manage the production, with 32 C-suite executives from across the world integrated into the conference. —K.C. Best Activation in Support of Sustainability Protect Our BeachesBrand: CoronaAgency: Legacy Seeking to attack the issue of glass bottle waste head-on, Corona and agency Legacy Chicago introduced an innovative device called the “Corona Crusher” through an experiential campaign focused on sparking an eco-friendly enthusiasm among consumers ages 21-plus. The Corona Crusher addressed the bottle waste challenge that beaches endure by turning empty beer bottles into sand. The campaign’s experience was further enhanced with plantable seed coasters and a “sand bar” for creating custom sand art using sustainable materials such as bamboo, cork and glass. Tapping into influencers connected to sustainability, the campaign reach was further amplified, yielding more than 2.1 million social impressions. Throughout 32 weeks, the campaign executed 370 events across 30 cities in 16 markets and supported 270 accounts while recycling more than 231,000 pounds of glass. The campaign's impact also led to the reduction of 29 tons of carbon emissions and conserved 115.5 tons of natural resources. —K.C. Best Cause-Related Experiential Activation Unwanted Film Festival Brand: Canadian Centre for Child Protection Agency: No Fixed Address With child sexual abuse material (CSAM) growing last year at a rate of one film or image uploaded every two seconds, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection partnered with agency No Fixed Address Toronto to reframe the issue so the world can stop ignoring it. The "Unwanted Film Festival" campaign used AI to generate 85 million film posters that symbolize the amount of CSAM videos online and provoke action against their proliferation. The organization created an immersive experience adjacent to the Tribeca Film Festival that used 3D projection mapping to display the AI-generated posters. The experience functioned much like an exhibit, with supplementary takeaway cards with QR codes linking to a petition for intervention on behalf of the children. The "Unwanted Film Festival" campaign drew visitors' attention worldwide, achieving 50 million earned impressions, inclusion in The New York Times podcast and thousands of petition signatures. —K.C. Experiential Agency of the Year Jack Morton Experiential Executive of the Year Shelley Elkins When agency Jack Morton Worldwide created a real-life version of the home in mobile puzzle game Merge Mansion, the client was eager to carry these ideas into its digital space. According to agency global co-president Craig Millon, using a physical activation to develop a flagship product speaks to the potential for experiential to become more than just a marketing silo. “Instead of being offline or online, [marketing strategy] should be something that flows between the two,” he said, emphasizing that constant access to technology means consumers don’t methodically separate physical and digital experiences. “It’s important to offer a more natural blend of digital and live, because that’s how people live.” Jack Morton wants its brand strategy to last well beyond a single activation. The agency, which works with clients including Adidas, McDonald’s and Meta, is Adweek’s Experiential Agency of the Year. This year, the global agency saw 30% overall business growth and brought 50 new clients into the fold. Shelley Elkins, who led the team as senior vice president and executive creative director before moving to NVE Experience Agency in October, is Adweek’s Experiential Executive of the Year. —Emmy Liederman Check out the full story on Adweek's Experiential Agency of the Year and Executive of the Year here. Experiential Brand of the Year Cadillac When Cadillac CMO Melissa Grady Dias charged Jack Morton Worldwide to come up with an exhibit for the grounds of the U.S. Open, the agency team immediately did the most logical thing—they split for Las Vegas. Not to hit the slots, though. “We took a field trip—we went to all the immersive exhibitions there,” said Jack Morton senior vice president Julie Levinthal. They stopped at the Van Gogh exhibit to be enveloped by 90-million-pixel video walls of the famed impressionist’s paintings. They walked through Marvel’s Avengers expo, a high-tech repository of superhero equipment. And they gawked at the Sphere, the immersive video concert venue that cost $2.3 billion to build. When they got home, they built the Cadillac Electriq Theater. The pop-up might not have been as muscular as Marvel or venerable as Van Gogh, but it delivered a multisensory wallop that felt far bigger than its modest footprints at the U.S. and Miami Opens. —Robert Klara Check out the full story on Adweek's Experiential Brand of the Year here. -- This story is part of our Experiential Awards special feature. Check out all the stories here.

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Adweek's 2023 Experiential Awards: Standout Activations Making Their Mark

These live events and experiences made leaving the house worth it

Experiential Activation by a Travel Brand

Kennyatta Collins

Sara Century

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Kennyatta Collins

Sara Century